Black mustard – Brassica nigra

Description of black mustard:

Brassica nigra Blue Nigra Nigra Nigra nigra – Cruciferae Stems cylindrical, sparsely hairy. The lower leaves are long-toothed, ovate, sessile on the wing and each leaf-blade is toothed. The upper leaves are smaller, shorter-toothed, lanceolate, pointed, and swathed with teeth. Flowers yellowish-pink. The fruit is bejeweled. Seeds reddish brown.

Occurrence:

It is cultivated in many places in temperate terrestrial regions and in some places it is found in a wild state.

Part to be collected:

The seeds are collected and marketed as semen sinapis nigrae.

Active ingredient:

Sinigrin glycoside, myrosin ensym, sinapin, dapic acid, and many fatty oils. Sinigrin glycoside is broken down by myrosine enzyme into matching mustard oil, glucose and potassium bisulphide.

Cultivation:

It is cultivated in the same way as white mustard, is not particular about soil, but grows best in calcareous loamy soil; – it is not sensitive to frost and is not sensitive to climate. To grow mustard, the soil must be ploughed in the autumn. The seeds are sown 30-40 cm apart in the soil fertilised the previous year. The seed requirement is 5-6 kg per acre. Production yield per acre is 4-5 q seed yield.

Harvesting and drying:

The seeds should be collected as soon as they are fully ripe, as the seeds are easily sprouted. The harvested mustard seeds are tied in rolls and dried before being spun.

Processing and marketing:

In medicine, the seeds are used whole and powdered. They are used in the manufacture of mustard flour, mustard paper and mustard spirit, which are widely used in home medicine. In addition, mustard seeds are used to produce the fatty oil and the mustard seed powder, which has been freed from the fatty oil and fermented with water, is distilled to produce the volatile mustard oil. Source: Dr. Ferenc Darvas and Dr. Gyula Magyary-Kossa,Domestic herbs, their production, marketing, effects and medicinal uses